Ken's Real Estate Blog

Borrowing Against Equity - What We Said In 2005

2009-11-06T00:24:00Z

This is a warning about the lure and dangers of borrowing against home equity. We wrote this in May of 2005. In re-reading this today, I could not help but wonder at how prophetic we were. I am including this as kind of a statement about the fact that we have been around in the real estate business long enough to have seen most things happen and have given solid advice to our clients and friends. This was written at the height of the real estate bubble. The advice still holds today. We took our own...(read more)

The Dishwasher Air Gap Story

2009-10-27T14:58:00Z

This article appeared in our September, 2009 newsletter. This brings us to the present. Articles will be posted from now on as they are published in the newsletters. This is going to be news to a number of people but that little chrome tower to the side of the kitchen faucet is not supposed to leak water into the sink. Well, that's not totally right. If everything is O.K. it is not supposed to do that. If there is a problem it is supposed to do that. Here is the story. That little chrome tower...(read more)

Ken's Cabinet Restoration Tricks

2009-10-13T18:52:00Z

This article is from the January, 2008 Ken’s Korner. I have been wanting to do this subject for some time but did not have the space. This is my chance. A common home maintenance problem is keeping those beautiful stained wood cabinets looking good, especially in the bathroom. Time and wear through use will damage the finish. However the worst enemy of the finish is water. Bathrooms are very humid environments, kitchens to a lesser degree. Water and wood and wood finishes are just not compatible....(read more)

Close The Door On Termites

2009-10-05T17:01:00Z

This is the follow-up article on termites from Kens’ Korner posted last week. This article appeared in the September, 2008 newsletter. As promised in our last newsletter, this is where we talk about closing termite routes to your house. As you may remember, in the last newsletter, we discussed how subterranean termites can gain entry to the wooden structure of your home through soil that has been built up at the outside wall of the home until it touches either the wood or stucco siding. We...(read more)

Termites & Dirty Stucco

2009-09-23T23:29:00Z

This article first appeared in Ken’s Korner in April, 2008. I will publish the follow-up article next week. So what do termites have to do with dirty stucco you ask? Actually a lot. We are talking about subterranean termites here. They nest and move about in the soil. Actually, they cannot survive long in fresh air. They eat, (well that is not the right word but we are not going into that right now) cellulose. That can be wood, tree roots, etc. They can actually survive out of the soil if they...(read more)

Crush That Leak!

2009-09-22T22:12:00Z

This Ken’s Korner article appeared in the May, 2006 newsletter. One problem that all homeowners will face one time or another is a leaky faucet or valve. That dripping of drops whether fast or slow can be annoying beyond belief. Not to mention a real water waster. Don’t assume you’ve got to replace that valve. There might be a simple fix. Here’s the deal on Ken’s “crush trick.” Below I have an drawing of a water faucet, also known as a “hose bib”...(read more)

The Case Of The Hairy Wheels

2009-09-14T14:34:00Z

This article appeared in the January, 2008 Ken’s Korner. Do you have a sliding glass door that is hard to slide open or shut? Ours was that way until recently. Do you have a dog or cat? Here's a little story about that. Two glass workmen had just finished replacing a broken window at our house when it occurred to me to ask them about our frustrating hard to move sliding glass door. I asked them if they could replace the rollers. You see, I assumed the door's rollers were worn out and...(read more)

Where's The Lino?

2009-09-08T23:12:00Z

This article appeared in the July, 2004 issue of the newsletter. Looking at our tired vinyl floor in the kitchen the other day I couldn’t help but think back to my childhood, (we’re talking early 50’s here), when we had linoleum kitchen floors that seemed to last forever and stand up to just about any abuse. Why I wondered, did these floors get less durable instead of more so? Well, I decided to find out. Though many people call modern vinyl flooring “linoleum” it is...(read more)

Ken's Wall Anchor Trick

2009-09-01T21:50:00Z

This Ken’s Korner article appeared in out July, 2007 newsletter. Here's a quick tip. It's about those handy little plastic wall anchors. You know the little tubular plastic pieces that fit into a hole in your interior wall. Once in the wall, you insert a screw which expands the tube and you have a holder for heavy pictures, etc. If you follow the instructions that come with them, you will be using a drill to create the hole and then tap the anchor into the hole with a hammer. Very messy...(read more)

Goof Plates & Topping Mud

2009-08-25T22:40:00Z

This Ken’s Korner article appeared in the March, 2006 newsletter. One of our home sellers had a little dilemma recently. There was a buyer who wanted to purchase the house but was turned off by little holes in the walls around some of the electrical outlets. Now to many of us this seems like a minor concern but to this particular buyer, who was a fastidious person, this was a big thing. Our seller wanted to fix the problem and make the buyer happy but was at a loss as to how to do it. He was...(read more)

Don't Cut That Chord

2009-08-20T19:39:00Z

This article appeared in the May, 2005 Ken’s Korner. I still get questions about this all the time. In pursuing that great American pastime of finding room for storing our stuff, it is common for people to create spaces in their attics and stick stuff up there. It used to be pretty simple. Cut a hole in the ceiling, sometimes including a ceiling joist, frame in the hole and start hauling stuff up into the attic. That was usually no big deal. In most of our newer homes though, doing this sort...(read more)

Garage Door Opener Breakthrough

2009-08-12T21:21:00Z

This article appeared in the August, 2003 newsletter. The info is still current. We love our garage door openers! Rain, shine, dark of night, that door will open right up for us without our having to get out of the car or pulling a back muscle. For decades, the basic design of the garage door opener has been pretty much the same. The boxy motor unit hangs suspended from the garage ceiling and the door is pulled up via a chain or screw riding along a long rail from the motor to the top of the door....(read more)

Fence Post Tricks

2009-08-06T17:14:00Z

This article appeared in Ken’s Korner of our newsletter in May of 2003. This is one of my favorites. Though I am no longer working as a remodeling contractor, I still do work on my own house. The list is endless! Because of this, and because I am still very much interested in construction work, I continue to subscribe to some construction trade journals. I recently read an article that answered a question I have had for years regarding fence posts. Now just about every homeowner has to deal...(read more)

Damp Day Paint Tale

2009-07-28T22:25:00Z

This little quickie was in the November, 2002 Ken’s Korner of our newsletter. It is hot and dry right now but will change by November. Reading this now might be helpful for those projects on coold foggy days.

The recent change in weather reminded me of something I knew but disremembered at the wrong time. (My Grand Daddy used to say “disremembered.” I always liked it). I am trying to get another coat of paint on our patio cover before the rains get serious. It is being done a little at a time when an hour or two of opportunity presents itself. Recently the hour presented itself just before dark on a nice day. So paint was applied until too dark to see. It felt good to know that some more progress had been made.

The next morning while having that first cup of coffee, I opened the window blinds to see big white drips of watery paint raining down on the patio and the hot tub! Suddenly, I remembered what I had disremembered before! Latex paint depends on evaporation to dry. Even though it had been the end of a nice day when the paint was applied, as soon as it got dark the temperature dropped and the dew started to form. The paint never had a chance to dry. By morning, the fog and dew were so heavy, it was dripping the wet paint all over. It is not a good idea to paint too late in the day at this time of year. I remember now.

Oh yes, I also remember Goof Off. Made for folks like me. It is wonderful at cleaning dried latex paint drips and goofs. It will remove the paint without damaging finished wood etc.. Get it wherever paint is sold. It is on my to do list for this weekend.

Appliance Disposal Problems Solved!

2009-07-21T20:23:00Z

This article was first run in Ken’s Korner in the November, 2002 newsletter. I updated a few details. The info is still current and useful.

Have you ever had the joy of installing a brand new up to date appliance ruined by the hassle of getting rid of the old one? Getting that new washer and dryer hooked up is great. But the dirty, grunting task of moving them to the curb only to be ignored by the trash collector is the pits. Then loading them up and taking them to the dump is even worse. And really, really worse is if the dump won’t take them or charges a fortune to let you drop them off!

During this process, did the thought ever come to you that “gee, it sure is a shame someone can’t use some of the good parts off of these things instead of it all ending up buried in the landfill.”

We have great news for you! You don’t ever have to go through the appliance dumping blues again! We have discovered Jaco Environmental, a company that will come to your house and pick up those old appliances and recycle them! There is a small fee though that varies with type of appliance. We recently had them pick up our old washer and dryer and I was overjoyed to pay $20.00 for both of them! They will pick up refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, trash compactors, washers, dryers, ranges, air conditioners, water heaters and televisions. They pick up throughout the Bay Area Monday through Saturday. Some utility companies also provide rebates if your old refrigerator or freezer is recycled by Jaco.

For detailed information and to schedule a pick-up to www.jacoenvironmental.com.